SXSW 2022 showcased immersive NFT experiences, lacking crypto and Bitcoin sessions

2 years ago

South by Southwest — commonly referred to arsenic “South By” oregon “SXSW” — has returned to Austin, Texas this twelvemonth to showcase the latest trends successful interactive media, music, art, movie and technology. While SXSW runs done March 20, 2022, the amusement and exertion festival kicked disconnected its archetypal play with a ample focus connected Web3 and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

NFT activations and panels

SXSW’s attendees’ involvement successful NFTs and the aboriginal of the net was peculiarly evident astatine the venue hosted by Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL) — a concern and originative portion formed by FOX Entertainment successful 2021. On March 11, the archetypal time of SXSW, a enactment consisting of hundreds of radical wrapped astir the streets of Fifth and Trinity successful downtown Austin arsenic SXSW badge holders anxiously awaited entranceway to BCL’s interactive NFT venue that besides showcased Web3-focused panels.

BCL CEO Scott Greenberg told Cointelegraph that the institution was the exclusive blockchain sponsor of SXSW this year:

“SXSW is simply a spot for autarkic musicians, filmmakers and contented creators to travel unneurotic to find a mode to foster concern amusement innovation. Given this, Blockchain Creative Labs felt that SXSW was the cleanable spot to travel and archer a communicative portion serving arsenic a halfway for activation.”

Indeed, BCL’s lawsuit abstraction appeared to beryllium 1 of the astir wide attended SXSW spots, particularly for those funny successful nonfungible tokens. The venue, which was unfastened done Sunday, March 13, included a assemblage of NFTs created by starring contented creators, exclusive NFT drops of euphony from authoritative SXSW artists, NFTs from diagnostic films premiering during the festival, on with a fig of thought enactment sessions connected Web3 development. “We had implicit 60 speakers and 40 panels connected Web3, amusement and however this provides caller worth to creators. SXSW 2022 was truly astir NFTs and the Metaverse, and our extremity was to amended attendees. I deliberation we achieved this,” said Greenberg.

Greenberg said that BCL’s SXSW activation abstraction consisted of interactive rooms to supply attendees with hands-on acquisition experiences to larn astir the decentralized internet, besides known arsenic “Web3.” For example, BCL allowed festival-goers to make proof-of-attendance-protocols (POAPs) to papers their attendance astatine SXSW. BCL’s POAPs served arsenic NFT badges fixed to attendees of some virtual and in-person events that took spot during the archetypal play of South By.

The venue besides featured a “BCL_RecordBlocks” station, which enabled attendees to “listen and earn” euphony NFTs from implicit 30 musicians. “The conception present was to fto attendees take from implicit 100 songs to perceive to. After listening, a QR-code would look connected the surface successful beforehand of them that could beryllium scanned for a euphony NFT,” explained Greenberg.

He said that the grounds fto attendees amended recognize however to get euphony NFTs portion besides enabling individuals to link straight with the musicians featured. “In gaming, you person play-to-earn. This is listen-to-earn to amusement however we tin link artists and fans unneurotic utilizing NFTs,” said Greenberg. Given that the Web3 abstraction is inactive developing, BCL had unit members successful achromatic laboratory coats managing the grounds to assistance onboard users to MetaMask, Coinbase oregon Rainbow wallets wherever they could past store their NFTs.

The BCL venue besides featured an “SXSW x BCL NFT Ledger” country which showcased a visualization of each SXSW-related information being recorded successful real-time. “This grounds featured Polygon wallet addresses from radical claiming our escaped NFTs similar Record Blocks. Everything displayed comes from the BCL marketplace,” explained Greenberg. He said that information volition beryllium recorded during the entirety of SXSW and volition past beryllium minted into an NFT. Greenberg said:

“This serves arsenic a clip capsule of SXSW events. Data is updated connected a regular ground to visually amusement however accusation is recorded connected the Polygon blockchain. This is besides an creation exhibit, arsenic we volition mint this arsenic a 1-on-1 NFT that we whitethorn yet sell.”

NFTs main taxable of treatment astatine “The AlgoRanch”

NFTs were besides wide discussed astatine “The AlgoRanch,” a pop-up lawsuit hosted by Algorand, a blockchain web designed to solve security, scalability and decentralization issues. Algorand has besides taken an involvement successful NFTs, specifically erstwhile it comes to ensuring sustainability since the web uses a Pure proof-of-stake (PoS) statement protocol.

In bid to show caller NFT innovation, Algorand featured a fig of sessions during its SXSW pop-up focused connected nonfungible token projects. For instance, Shrina Kurani — a Democrat moving for Congress successful California’s 41st District — appeared connected a sheet to shed penetration connected the motorboat of her NFT collection. Known arsenic “Kurani for Congr3ss,” she explained that this is simply a postulation of 230 NFTs designed to rise consciousness for her run portion highlighting climate-friendly solutions successful the Web3 space.

In bid to item the value of her NFT postulation being c neutral, Kurani was connected signifier alongside Priya Samant, CEO of Abris — a sustainable NFT marketplace built connected Alogrand that partnered with Kurani connected this peculiar drop. “The main postulation featured 230 NFTs that correspond the 230 cardinal tons of c stay successful the world‘s ‘carbon budget,’” explained Kurani.

Kurani further told Cointelegraph that she is the first-ever national campaigner to motorboat NFTs for a legislature campaign:

“We are leveraging NFTs arsenic a mode to enactment a run to marque a existent interaction connected the future. It’s important to beryllium connected to some Web3 and the existent satellite to span the spread betwixt authorities and crypto — NFTs are a mode of doing this.”

Kurani added that NFTs let legislature candidates to correspond the American population, claiming that 3 retired of 10 Americans nether the property of 30 prosecute with cryptocurrency. “This is simply a mode to get those individuals involved. We tin besides scope much radical and amended the colonisation connected fiscal literacy. The main thesis of Web3 is astir decentralization, user empowerment and ownership, which is wherefore we are excited astir NFTs,” she remarked.

In summation to Kurani’s NFT collection, the American Rapper Darryl McDaniels besides known arsenic “DMC,” announced the tokenization of his opus Million Scars astatine Algorand’s SXSW pop-up event. For this launch, McDaniels utilized Stoi.org, a exertion level built connected the Algorand blockchain that features a carbon-neutral footprint and debased transaction costs. McDaniels told Cointelegraph that blockchain exertion allows musicians to solve communal problems successful the euphony industry:

“Run DMC has ever brought radical unneurotic for the better. What I’m doing with Algorand volition assistance america manifest solutions needed to enactment powerfulness backmost into the creator‘s hands. Everything successful the euphony manufacture has been exploited and separated, and present we person solutions to marque it inclusive for everyone involved.”

NFTs made a splash astatine Ripple

The Ripple House, hosted by fintech steadfast Ripple, besides featured a assortment of NFT projects to item the company’s caller Creator Fund. Monica Long, wide manager of RippleX — Ripple’s innovation limb — told Cointelegraph that the money is simply a $250 cardinal committedness to assistance creators with their NFT projects:

“While creators are starting to recognize the benefits of NFTs, they typically don’t cognize however to spell astir processing these projects. They either deficiency backing oregon selling and method expertise, truthful we wanted to motorboat the Creator Fund to lick these 3 challenges. We’ve already had implicit 4,000 applications, astir from autarkic creators looking to turn their audiences.”

According to Long, Ripple’s Creator Fund examines a assortment of NFT usage cases, but the institution plans to absorption chiefly connected sustainability, existent estate, euphony and amusement moving forward. Long added that developers tin presently experimentation with NFT functionality connected the XRP Ledger utilizing NFT-Devnet, a beta situation for developers to usage XLS-20d — the autochthonal NFT modular RippleX is proposing.

“We are moving connected a caller modular to marque the NFT minting, absorption and burning acquisition much natively built into the protocol. Other chains person NFTs programmed done astute contracts, truthful a batch of these capabilities are present built into the XLS-20d standard,” said Long. The enforcement added that Ripple anticipates the modular to spell up for mainnet amendment voting successful aboriginal April.

In the meantime, immoderate were already demonstrating however the XRP Ledger could beryllium utilized for NFTs. Kaj Leroy, co-founder and CEO of Xpunks — an NFT task built connected the XRP Ledger — gave a glimpse into the task by creating customized JPG avatars for attendees. Leroy told Cointelegraph that Xpunks is presently waiting for the XLS-20d modular to beryllium released earlier minting the existent Xpunk NFTs. “These are conscionable JPGs now, but erstwhile XLS-20d launches we volition marque a large collage of each these JPGs, mint it, past nonstop it to everyone who came to our booth astatine SXSW.”

Stellar hosted an NFT creator challenge

Stellar besides jumped connected the accidental to showcase NFT improvement during SXSW this year. The open-source decentralized protocol hosted a 48-hour NFT hackathon during the archetypal play of South By, bringi newcomers and experienced developers unneurotic to physique a task connected the Stellar web that incorporates nonfungible tokens.

According to the prompt, artists were instructed to make NFT artwork that “embodies the metaverse.” Stellar past sent XLM funds to users’ Litemint wallet addresses to screen the minting fees. Participants had the accidental to triumph $1,500 worthy of XLM prizes for participating successful the challenge.

Fluf World highlighted a “Metaverse Manifesto”

Another large taxable of speech during SXSW this twelvemonth was Web3 and the emergence of the Metaverse. Some of the astir in-depth conversations regarding metaverse improvement took spot astatine Fluf World’s Fluf Haus.

Alex Smeele, co-founder and CEO of Non-Fungible Labs and Metaverse situation Fluf World, told Cointelegraph that the institution wanted to usage SXSW arsenic an accidental to sermon plans for the motorboat of its “Metaverse Manifesto.”

While determination are a fig of antithetic definitions for the Metaverse, Smeele explained that helium believes it represents the aboriginal of the net and however radical volition prosecute with it. As such, Smeele noted that the Metaverse requires standards that Web3 companies indispensable address:

“The Metaverse Manifesto is simply a telephone to arms for manufacture leaders to code the wider issues we are facing. Everyone is charging headfirst into this abstraction with large ideas, but determination are inactive questions that request to beryllium answered if we are going to thrust things guardant correctly. If we tin bring the smartest radical successful the manufacture unneurotic to specify these standards, it volition prevention hassle moving forward.”

Smeele said that the sessions hosted astatine Fluf Haus focused connected sustainability, inclusion, diverseness and different topics shaping the Metaverse. “We had astir 7 ecosystem partners contiguous to sermon these topics. Altered State Machine, Carbon Click, The Seekers, Silo squad and a fig of others came unneurotic to code important issues. Decentralization is astir putting powerfulness backmost successful the hands of individuals, but with large powerfulness comes large responsibility,” commented Smeele.

Little attraction for Bitcoin and crypto wide

Although it’s notable that NFTs and Web3 were large topics of treatment during SXSW 2022, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin (BTC) were mostly near retired of the conversation. Dan Held, maturation pb astatine Kraken and a serial Bitcoin entrepreneur, highlighted this constituent successful his caller recap of SXSW. In his post, Held noted:

“On Sunday greeting astatine 10AM, I was the moderator of the ONLY Bitcoin sheet astatine the league called ‘Bitcoin DeFi’ wherever I chatted alongside Pomp, Alyse Kileen, and Tony Cai astir the basics of Bitcoin, DeFi, and the intersection of the two. Pretty chaotic to deliberation that we were the lone Bitcoin talk!”

A fewer pop-up events during SXSW focused connected the crypto ecosystem. The Grit Daily big featured a fireside chat connected March 10 with Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network. Tal Bentov, vice president of lending astatine Celsius told Cointelegraph that she believes determination was a genuine involvement successful crypto astatine SXSW, which is wherefore it was important for Celsius to beryllium 1 of the fewer crypto companies that showed up.

So, determination were precise fewer authoritative SXSW panels related to cryptocurrency. One of the panels that did sermon crypto in-depth was entitled Financial Surveillance successful a Cashless Society. Sheila Warren, caput of data, blockchain and integer assets astatine the World Economic Forum, was 1 of the panelists for this session.

Warren told Cointelegraph that the treatment focused connected argumentation and however regulators deliberation astir cardinal slope integer currencies versus cryptocurrency. “We didn’t needfully reason thing specific, but the much we spell digital, the much opportunities determination are for tracking and tracing. There are ways to mitigate the quality for backstage and nationalist sectors to way what you are up to online, though,” said Warren.

She added that an awesome fig of SXSW attendees were contiguous for this panel, demonstrating however important this taxable is for galore people, on with those who enactment successful policymaking. Warren further remarked that portion she thinks NFTs are the gateway into crypto, she hopes that South By attendees recognize that a batch much is happening wrong the crypto ecosystem speech from NFTs:

“There is simply a batch going connected successful the ecosystem and, now, the manufacture is getting taken earnestly by galore antithetic radical each implicit the world. I’m blessed to spot this enactment and that radical are realizing it tin beryllium a amusive technology, but it’s besides superior and life-changing. I anticipation adjacent twelvemonth astatine SXSW we get much opportunities for treatment wrong the crypto satellite arsenic a whole.”

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